Where have all the youth gone?
General Manager, Mountain High
No, I am not referring to our guests. I am referring to us! When I returned from Savannah, Ga., my 16th consecutive NSAA Convention, I looked back at past conventions. and one thing that really struck me was the lack of youth, or more precisely, the absence of younger managers. As I walked around the trade show halls and attended the seminars, I saw many of the same faces that I have seen over the past 16 years. This should not be misinterpreted—it is nice to see old friends and talk about how things have gone over the past year. What I found disturbing was that we are an industry that, for the last three or four years, has been focusing heavily (and rightfully so) on growing the youth market, creating youth programs and selling to youth. Yet we exclude a very important ingredient in the youth movement, and that is empowering youth and exposing them to our management teams.
I was wondering, do we not value our younger managers enough to bring them to the NSAA convention? Has consolidation and cost cutting made it prohibitive to bring these individuals? Have we failed to nurture, grow or promote younger managers within our organizations? Remembering back to national conventions/trade shows I’ve attended over the years, I recall seeing many young faces who now hold key positions within our industry. Where have those young faces gone?
I fear that if we don’t start cultivating a new group of resort executives, a number of things will happen. First, it’s going to be very hard for us to transition from a baby-boom driven industry to a more youth-active market, which all of us have identified will be the key to future success. Second, if we are not actively involving and exposing a new generation of managers to our industry, there will be a difficult transition as the current guard reaches retirement and/or pursues “later in life” activities. I would like to recall a comment Bill Jensen made in his acceptance of the SAMMY award a couple of years ago when he said, “We are the second generation of ski resort managers. It is our responsibility to cultivate the third generation.” Like many things Bill says, I believe he was right on.
I ask/challenge all senior managers to look at the average age of your 10 most key managers (at Mountain High it’s 37.2 years old). Are you cultivating that next group? Do you have a staff in place that can potentially take our industry to the next generation? Are you growing potential industry leaders? If the answer is yes, let’s all bring these people out of hiding and expose them to the many opportunities provided by the national and state associations and organizations, and to the publications such as SAM and other trade magazines and let’s introduce them to the whole industry. If the answer is no, I can’t think of a better time to start the process, with so much attention focused on our youth and marketing programs and so many youth wanting to learn more about our industry.
Let’s open the doors to youth in our offices the same way we have on our hills. Remember, somebody took a chance on each of us at one time or another. I was lucky in that I was only 23 (although I think I said I was 25) but I am much indebted to those people who, very early in my career, gave me an opportunity. This industry was built on taking chances, so let’s take a chance and start promoting, cultivating and exposing the next generation to the industry we all love.
An Open Letter to the New NSAA Chairman, David Crowley
by Jennifer Rowan
Dear David:
We at SAM would like to welcome you to your new role. We have watched in admiration as you and your family continue to set the standard in the industry at Wachusett Mountain, and we hope you will bring that same leadership and enthusiasm to your position as Chairman of the Board.
We also have a few ideas we would like to share with you. One of the first things we would like to see you tackle is to bring more industry leaders back into the thick of things. Our industry is a small one, and buy-in from all levels is crucial as we face an uncertain future. If we are to truly grow this sport, we need for everyone to roll up their sleeves and pitch in. We have watched, in dismay, as more and more leaders have dropped out of this small fraternity. Remember the days when Jerry Groswold, Phil Gravink and George Willett (though, he’s still at it) and the like roamed the trade show halls, spoke out during meetings and seminars and wrote thought-provoking editorials in SAM? Some may not have agreed with everything they said, but we appreciated their passion.
You are quoted as saying that “the industry is made up of independent thinkers that don’t want their association to tell them how to think; they want to tell their association how they think and how it can help them. That’s how NSAA is working and should continue to work.”
We don’t think that is how the association is currently working at all. The problem is that too many of these independent thinkers are not saying anything to the association. These days, many leaders are answering to higher authorities, like the imperative of showing quarter-to-quarter gains, which leaves little time, or desire, to play with the rest of us. We challenge you to re-engage these minds, to get their input and to get them to work together toward a similar goal. NSAA has done a fine job in its role—it has spurred some great programs on safety, environment, government affairs, the Model for Growth and has created a very large rainy day fund (more on that later). But these initiatives are not born of a collaborative industry effort, but rather by the efforts of the NSAA staff or by the efforts of a few individuals or companies, such as Carla Marcus with her “WinterKids” program or Burton’s work on the “Smartstyle” program.
There are two types of industry associations: Those that are member-driven and those that are staff-driven. For most of its 42 years, NSAA was the former, but in the last 10 years it has evolved into the latter. The members have become increasingly complacent when they should be more active—it’s their future.
David, let’s get back to that place where independent thinkers spoke their minds, debated the important topics and took on a larger role in steering this ship. A metaphor for that place is NSAA’s annual business meeting. In recent years, the ongoing joke is to see how quickly the agenda can be voted on and rubber-stamped so that everyone can get on to the opening cocktail party. But in earlier days, that business meeting always involved passionate debate, by areas large and small, on the association’s actions and priorities. There was passion, and for the right reason: People really cared about their association because they understood what it meant for the future of the industry and their own businesses. There is no need for the NSAA staff to shoulder this burden alone.
As for our rainy day fund, which now stands at $1.2 million, let’s get some good thinking on this. It’s a lot of money for a small organization, and it’s our money. And let’s not wait for a rainy day—in our industry, a rainy day means it’s too late. Let’s hear how the industry might allocate some of those funds to worthy programs that will make us a little more successful, such as attracting and converting minorities, to name but one.
David, you and the board have some hurdles to overcome in getting NSAA back to a member-involved mode of operation. We hope you will communicate with all of us members, and we urge the entire industry to join you in grappling with the challenges we face. An enthusiastic leader and an active membership can be a powerful, and successful, combination.
To Capture Minority Customers, Hire Minority Employees
by Roberto L. Moreno
Founder, the Alpino Group
The remarkable whiteness of the ski industry may be the biggest obstacle to growing snowsports and capitalizing on the emerging multicultural majority in the U.S. This population already has $1.6 trillion of spendable income, represents 70 percent of the nation’s under-18 population, and could create as many as 16 million new snowriders.
To tap this market, areas need to recruit and hire minorities to positions in ski school, patrol, lift ops, management and marketing. I recently completed a survey of 230 U.S. ski areas and found that without exception, those areas with some level of minority personnel in front line positions were the most likely to experience success in attracting new minority customers. And the time to do this is now. The new NSAA Demographic Study shows that nearly 25 percent of first-time skiers and snowboarders are people of color.
Presenting totally white images in front line positions (and in most web sites and collateral) sends the wrong message to this audience. In some large Colorado resorts, minority participation rates in front line positions are less than one percent—and falling. This is so even though many of those ski areas are within 90 minutes of Denver, which already has a multicultural majority of 51 percent. Now, put yourself in their place. Think how you would feel if you showed up at your ski area tomorrow and everyone was Black, Brown or Asian and the only person that looked like you was behind a maid’s cart. Can you think of one industry or product that could be so non-inclusive of minorities and still be in business?
There are two basic steps you can take to make your front line staff more inclusive. First, since most minorities are not already part of ski culture, you have to actively recruit them. Involve yourself in minority networks. And make minorities feel welcome when they do show up at your resort. Second, your line managers—those doing the hiring—must understand your resort’s absolute commitment to diversity. Tell them this is not about social justice, it’s about business. Then, prove to your managers that you mean it: make their success in recruiting people of color part of their annual review. Challenge them to make the workforce more diverse, and reward them when they succeed.
And tell all your employees, via orientation, newsletters, and their managers, how important it is for all staff to welcome people of color to the resort.
Ghost Towns or Vacation Ownership
by Ted Farwell, MAI
Winterstar Valuations
I have just finished reading your thoughtful piece on the popular resort villages, “Vibrant Villages or Ghost Towns” (May 2004). Author Ken Castle was very perceptive but missed one additional critical factor, the potential impact of time shares or, in the preferred terminology, “vacation ownership.”
I have long stressed balance as the most important resort planning concept. With the large investment in capital required to create an attractive ski resort, the major goal should be to operate at a high utilization level. The average ski area operates at some 34 percent of capacity, a figure boosted by the weighty influence of the large destination resorts.
The common perception of our industry by outside investors (and by some from within) is that the ski area is a loss leader to sell real estate. However, the astute developer understands that the ski facilities can generate an excellent return at 40 percent utilization, and a fantastic figure at 50 percent! Thus, the marketing goal should be to keep the ski lifts full. It is time to change the common perception to one where the real estate is a loss leader to sell lift tickets, lessons, food and equipment.
Even better, in my view: the business should be structured—balanced, that is—so that every department makes a profitable contribution.
That’s where the vacation ownership model can be extremely valuable. When the model is used to plan and market the resort village, the result is a steady stream of skiers and snowboarders at the ticket windows and higher ski resort utilization. Once the cash operating break-even point is reached, 80 percent to 90 percent of the $40 to $50 that skiers and snowboarders pay for the right to enjoy the slopes each day drops to the bottom line. The obvious strategy is to do whatever it takes to fill the slopes.
Therefore, it’s important for ski area owners to develop the real estate themselves, or to at least control how the real estate is developed. It is in the area’s interest (though not necessarily in that of an independent developer) to maximize the area’s overall annual cash flow by keeping lodging costs at the point where beds are filled up all season.
In my judgment, the rush to sell high-priced real estate to owners who use it only on weekends and holidays, and who do not rent out their townhomes and condos mid-week, continues to restrict the profitability of many ski resorts. I thought this lesson had been learned 30 years ago!
